Proudly perched atop the steep-sloped tip of a playground structure similar to the one pictured above, a girl urged her slightly older friend to take the Roof Sitting Challenge. The confident and athletic 10-year-old girl we met in Play Sighting 0026 patiently instructed her less-confident playmate: “put your left hand there, put your right hand there, put your right foot there. Now hold tight, swallow your fear, swing your left leg up, and grab here with your left hand. You’ll probably make it. If you fall, you fall.”

The friend decides not to make the attempt.

“I love your dogs,” Roof Sitting Challenge girl shouts, “The pointy-eared one is prettiest, but Mr. Floppy Ears looks cuddly.”

“They’re both skilled cuddlers,” I reply, “I love that you made it all the way up there. Did you figure it out yourself or did someone teach you?”

“I figured it out. Only fell twice learning.”

” Were you scared to try again after falling?”

“A little, but breaking a bone is on my bucket list.”

“Good luck with that.”

The Roof Sitting Challenge Wrap Up

One of the problems with such playground structures is that they quickly bore kids. Some kids are OK with that and keep playing, others choose to play somewhere else, and some are innovators and invent their version of the roof sitting challenge to feed their need for a bit of danger in their day.

Most playgrounds are not built with the needs and interests of kids in mind; they’re constructed to conform to the expectations and requirements of adults. I suspect the roof sitting challenge girl could design playgrounds kids would enjoy more than what adults tend to come up with. Maybe she should add that to her bucket list.

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